Us judge dismisses suit challenging government’s authority to kill Qaeda’s Al-Awlaki

WASHINGTON - US District Court Judge John D. Bates has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the Obama administration’s right and authority to assassinate Al Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki, who is a U.S. citizen hiding in Yemen.

Awlaki has been linked to the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas day 2009, the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas by Army Maj. Nidal Hasan and the recent seizure of bomb-making materials in the cargo of two planes.

According to ABC News, President Obama himself has authorized the targeted killing of Awlaki in Yemen, where he is believed to be hiding.

Two public interest groups, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, had filed the suit on behalf of Anwar al-Awlaki’s father, Nasser al- Awlaki.

They sought a declaration from the court that the Constitution and international law prohibit the government from carrying out targeted killings outside of armed conflict, except as a last resort to protect against imminent threats of death.

But Judge Bates found that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case because Awlaki’s father instead of Awlaki himself brought it.

Furthermore, the judge agreed with the government that the issue of whether Awlaki poses a national security threat to the United States is best left to the political branches and not the court. (ANI)